A new species of spider of the genus Sadala Simon, 1880 (Araneae, Sparassidae) from the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador

Abstract We describe a new species of giant crab spider of the genus Sadala Simon, 1880 collected in Lowland Evergreen rainforests at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Amazonian Ecuador. This new species corresponds to the first record of the genus from Ecuador. Females of the new species of Sadala are similar to S. punicea and S. nanay, by having the epigyne with a median septum diamond‐shaped posteriorly. The new species is easily distinguished from S. punicea and S. nanay by having relatively straight anterior lateral margins of the median septum. This study increases to 10 the number of described species of Sadala.

Opportunistic collections were conducted at night on trails in Terra Firme and Varzea forests at TBS. Specimens were collected by hand, transported to the laboratory in plastic containers with leaf litter, photographed alive, and euthanized with direct intracardiac delivery of potassium chloride KCl, following protocols described by Bennie et al. (2012). Specimens were preserved in 75%  Rheims and Jäger (2022). Leg spinnation description follows definitions and terminology proposed by Petrunkevitch (1925). Abbreviations are as follows for legs spinnation: d, dorsal; p, prolateral; r, retrolateral; v, ventral; and female genitalia: CO, copulatory opening; FD, fertilization duct; ft, first turn of duct system; GP, glandular projection; LL, lateral lobe; MS, median septum; TP, triangular projection; SP, spermathecae. Life colors are described based on photographs of live spiders taken in the field.
The adjective "pectinated" describes a coloration pattern having marks shaped like branches of a comb (Maggenti et al., 2017).

Male. Unknown.
Variation. Paratype females, total length: 18.94-19.46; cephalothorax length: 7.06-7.57; femur I length: 8.08-8.36. Lighter pectinated pattern on the abdomen and lighter heart mark than the holotype. Peru Amazonas, Brazil (S. nigristernis, S. nanay, S. punicea, S. velox, S. tabatinga) (Rheims & Jäger, 2022). The similarities between S. rauli, S. punicea and S. nanay could point to a close evolutionary relationship between them, and phylogenetic studies are required to confirm this hypothesis. The number of observations available in iNaturalist suggests that there could be additional localities of S. rauli or other, possibly undescribed, species of Sadala in Ecuador, probably with some localities holding more than one species. Additional collections and studies are required to determine the species richness and distribution of Sadala across Ecuador, which seems to be underestimated.

ACK N OWLED G M ENTS
We thank Roberto J. León-E. and Ariel Guerrero-Campoverde for their friendship, field companionship, and support at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station; to all the administrative and field staff of the

Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ and Tiputini Biodiversity
Station supported this work through operative funds assigned to the Institute of Tropical Biodiversity IBIOTROP and research and outreach funds assigned to Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia.

CO N FLI C T O F I NTER E S T S TATEM ENT
None.

DATA AVA I L A B I L I T Y S TAT E M E N T
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available